


Drawn to Your Light

by lurid_lucine



Series: Insect Wings AU [1]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Wings, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betrayal, But no, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Feral Zim, Idiots in Love, Insect Wings AU, Locust Zim, M/M, Moth Dib, Red and Purple are assholes, Slow Burn, Tall Zim (Invader Zim), Wingfic, feral dib, i just had to go crazy go stupid with the plot, this was initially just supposed to be a fun happy little wingfic au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:41:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26585287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurid_lucine/pseuds/lurid_lucine
Summary: Sent on a mission for conquest and glory by his kings, locust-winged knight Zim ventures into the depths of a danger-ridden forest in search of a hidden people, intending to claim them and their land for the Irken Empire.Having lived his entire life under the belief that he was cursed from birth, moth-winged Dib chases childhood stories of magic and an outside world beyond the boundaries of the forest his people live in, hoping for the chance to cure himself.Inevitably, the two meet and clash, and the results are not as pretty as either of them would have liked.
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Purple/Almighty Tallest Red, Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: Insect Wings AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933858
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Drawn to Your Light

Two willowy figures sat slumped into plush velvet thrones, draped in lavish red and purple garments respectively. The gold of their jewelry and the bright hues of the gems embedded into them gleamed in the chandeliers' lurid glow, a stark contrast to the dead black night outside the windows.

The rhythmic tap of sharp nails against a gilded armrest resounded faintly throughout the area, and plum colored eyes narrowed as they flitted over to meet cherry red. “... are you sure this is going to work?”

“Well, what other options do we have?”

“I mean-- ”

“You know how everything else went, Pur. He literally _quit_ from his own manual labor sentence! Even if we were to try imprisonment or execution, he would probably just find a way to wiggle out of _that_ the moment he realized he was screwed.”

“Hm. Yeah, okay, you do have a point.”

“The only way to get rid of him is to make him go willingly. Give him a reason to want to run himself to death. He may be slippery and adaptive enough to escape just about anything, but if there’s one thing he isn’t, it’s smart.”

“Hah-- I guess you would know him better than anyone else does.”

There was a gleam of indignation in the king’s cherry eyes, head snapping to the side so he could glare at his partner.

"What? What’s that supposed to mean?"

Purple shrugged. "Just saying. You were brothers, weren't you? Red and Zim, completely inseparable on the training grounds. You guys weirded everyone out-- including me."

“Oh, shut up. Don’t remind me. I ended up getting knighted late because that little twerp wouldn’t stop following me around and making me look bad,” Red grumbled, perching his cheek on his hand. “But it’s not like any of that matters now, anyways. It doesn’t change anything. He’s a menace, and we’re getting rid of him.”

An airy laugh. “Yeah, yeah.”

The sound of the doors opening accompanied by curt, timid footsteps drew the kings’ gazes towards the other end of the room, where a lanky servant now stood and gave a respectful bow.

"Your Majesties. He's arrived."

Clearing his throat, Red adjusted his posture, and Purple followed suit beside him. “Oh, wonderful! Let him in.”

Upon his confirmation, the servant scurried over to pull the door open, revealing the armor-clad figure on the other side.

“My Kings!” the knight scampered inside, eyes bright with reverence and pink-tinted wings giving a frantic flutter before settling against his back. He scrambled to a halt before giving a too-deep bow and then shooting upright, as if springing into place. “I came as soon as I received your message!”

The monarchs feigned receptive smiles, pointedly ignoring the male’s lack of proper etiquette. Red laced his fingers together on his lap, raising a brow. “Ah, Zim. Yes, we have a very... _special_ quest for you.”

“Heh-- yeah. _Real_ special.” An amused snort escaped the other king along with a fit of quiet snickers, although it was quickly cut off with a scowl from his husband.

Red continued, “You see, this is a very important mission-- in fact, it’s so important that we can only trust the best of our knights to carry it out.”

If Zim noticed the mocking lilt of the red-clad king’s voice, he didn’t think much of it in favor of his far more promising words. Predictably, his antennae perked up with interest. “The best of your knights, you say?”

“As you’ve probably guessed, being so _very_ smart as you are, we have deemed you the most fit for the job,” the taller Irken played up his tone till it was sickly sweet and cloying. “But, we’ve decided we’re going to be keeping this a secret. You know how jealous the others can get, don’t you? We don’t want to end up letting them know we have favorites now… they might just try to sabotage you, and that would be absolutely tragic.”

“Why, yes! You are right, dear brother! You are intelligent and benevolent as you always have been.” Zim gushed, already drinking in every word with zeal. As he sang his praises, unknowing of the fate his beloved kings intended for him, the servants standing by outside the room silently thanked the Gods above that they were anyone but him.

“Ahem-- ” a tinge of irritation shone through, despite Red’s best efforts to keep it down for the sake of the act. “We talked about this, Zim. It’s ‘your Majesty’ to you.”

“Oh. Of course, your Majesty!”

With a huff, the king waved it off. “Anyways, about this secret quest… we’re aware that you haven’t yet been assigned an area to enforce our power in, or a nation to help conquer. Well, that changes tonight. From now on, you will be tasked with travelling deep into the forests of Urth and claiming the land on behalf of the Irken Empire.”

Zim frowned, a hint of reluctance shadowing the excitement in his eyes. “Urth? But what use will we have for Urth? It’s uninhabitable, and there are no resources useful enough to be worth it anyways.”

“Actually, that’s just what we _want_ everyone else to think." Purple cut in, raising a brow. "But since we trust you so much, we’re going to let you in on a little secret: there _are,_ in fact, people living in the forest.”

“Oh, yes. Dangerous, ferocious people.” Red agreed, “So ferocious that I’d say… not even ten regular Irken knights combined could possibly take them out.”

“ _Ten_?” Bright pink eyes widened.

“That’s right. With teeth and claws like daggers, and-- ”

“And acid spit that can melt through armor in seconds!”

“Unfathomably hideous!”

“Absolutely rancid in stench.”

Taking all of this in, the knight nodded in understanding. “I see. It is only natural that no lesser warrior would be able to keep control over such beasts.”

“That’s right. But, you’re no lesser warrior, are you Zim?” Red narrowed his eyes down at his subject, and at his side, Purple turned to once again stifle his laughter.

“Of course not! I am _Zim!_ ” the shorter puffed out his chest and unfurled his wings in a display of pride, preening shamelessly under his kings’ attention. “No number of filthy stink-beasts will be enough to discourage Irk’s finest of knights!”

“That’s the spirit. Now, we’ve already prepared-- ”

But Zim wasn’t finished. He ranted on, gestures growing more and more dramatic as he immersed himself in his own delusions of grandeur.

“Zim will most assuredly assert his dominance and bring their heads to you on a platter! The moment one of them _dares_ to defy me, _I shall_ …”

As he prattled on, the berry-colored gemstone on his belt began to take on a bright glow, a myriad of cracks in its surface growing more apparent. Growing flickers of fluorescent pink began to dance at his gloved fingertips with every extravagant movement of his hands.

_“Oh, Gods.”_

Just in time, Red brought a hand up to raise a barrier of translucent scarlet, and the two kings were shielded from the blast that promptly ensued.

… the rest of the throne room, however, was not so fortunate.

Once the barrier came down, the two were greeted with the sight of a confused, disgruntled Zim standing in the midst of charred velvet and marble. Pink smolders clung to some of the partially-intact drapes and carpet still left behind.

Dragging his palm over his face and praying to the Gods above, the crimson-robed king held as much of his temper back as he could with every ounce of strength he could muster.

_He’ll be gone soon, he’ll be gone soon, keep it together._

Red took in a deep breath.

“Carriage for you. Outside. _Now_.”


End file.
